I'm nervous picking the Titans to win and even more nervous about picking the New York Giants over Detroit.

But I'll pick New York with the +6.5 as well as picking the Titans straight up (no points handicap) over Tamp Bay.
Titans are actually 2.5 point favorites.

I don't blame you for being nervous about picking the Titans. The game is at the half, the Titans have only passed for 46 yards the entire first half, and the Titans are only ahead by just 2 points. The Titans passing game is struggling and the Bucs have the momentum. Ugh.

Added in 57 minutes 19 seconds:
The Bucs are now ahead 23 - 20 early in the 4th quarter.

Added in 11 minutes 2 seconds:
The Titans have jumped back into the lead 27 to 23 about midway through the 4th quarter.

Added in 13 minutes 53 seconds:
The Titans still have the lead but the Bucs have the ball, they have momentum, they're moving the ball in Tennessee territory, and it's late in the 4th quarter. Ugh.

Added in 9 minutes 18 seconds:
The Bucs were on the Titans 33 and it was 4th down. The Titans stopped them. The ball changed hands on downs. The Titans are now 1st and 10 at the Tennessee 33 with a little less than 2 minutes to go. The Bucs still have some timeouts.

Added in 3 minutes 13 seconds:
The Titans played out their downs and the ball now belongs to TB with 26 seconds left it's first and 10 on the TB 36 yard line. A FG won't even tie the game. The Bucs need a TD.

Added in 1 minute 41 seconds:
Tampa Bay threw an interception, which was intercepted by Titans CB Logan Ryan. The Titans got the ball on their own 20 and the game ended with a Titans win at 27 - 23

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I'm going to have to root against the Titans this week nameless as they play the Panthers and Christian McCaffrey is one of my favorite players in the league.

I hope the Panthers can get back on track after a thrashing from the 49ers.

*My overview of the Panthers/Titans game...

McCaffrey's a great player but I just found out that the Panthers will be without Cam Newton. They'll be starting 2nd stringer Kyle Allen. Even without Carr the Panthers still have top-drawer offensive weapons in D. J. Moore, Samuel Curtis, and Greg Olson. Plus, add in McCaffrey. With weapons like those it's hard to imagine how the Titans could beat the Panthers, considering the Titans smorgasbord of injuries. The Panthers definitely have a good OL whereas the Titans OL is in flux. The one offensive weakness for the panthers is that they're playing their 2nd string QB AND THEY'RE DOING THIS AGAINST A GOOD TITANS' DEFENSE.

Team breakdown by units and matchup comparison.

*The Titans OL deserves its' own section because it's a big injury mess and also has one inexperience problem...

*The Titans have been starting to improve at OL but they still have a ways to go since starting RG Nate Davis was a late 3rd round pick just this year and he missed all of pre-season with an injury. He's only been back to football for a few games so he's a very weak spot that the Panthers defense could successfully exploit. Both offensive linemen Jack Conklin and Ben Jones left last week's game against Tampa Bay with injuries and I need to wait to see what their health status is. Also, offensive lineman Rodger Saffold left the game against Tampa Bay with a concussion and he's presently in concussion protocol. Ugh! What a mess at OL. I need to wait till we get deeper into the week before to see what's going on with the health of this OL before I decide if I want to support the Titans or the Panthers. Oddly enough if all of the Titans OL gets healthy and rookie Nate Davis makes a big jump from newbie rookie to satisfactory OL player then the OLs will be about equal. But I don't think that's going to happen so I think the Panthers have an edge at OL.

The rest of the Titans' offense...

The Titans have the better QB. The Titans offensive weapons, depending on who's healthy enough to play, is a match for the Panthers offensive weapons. The Titans have Corey Davis, A. J. Brown, Adam Humphries, TE Delanie Walker and TE Jonnu Smith, who is really coming into his own. The Titans also have RB Derrick Henry, who can be just as game-changing as McCaffrey, depending on the play (health) of the OL, although Derrick Henry is not the receiver that McCaffrey is. But the Titans probably have better pass-catchers than the Panthers. So when it comes to offensive weapons it's about a draw.

The Panthers defense...

On the DL Gerald McCoy is a good player and he's 31 years old. Dontari Poe is good and he's 29 years old. Vernon Butler's a good player and he's 25 years old. This DL is strong but it's no better than the Titans DL. The Titans have an excellent DL and all 3 players (Jurrell Casey, Daquan Jones, and Jefferey Simmons) are all jelling well and playing very well.

At OLB the starters are Mario Addison who is 32 years old, and Bruce Irvin, who will be 32 years old on game day. These guys are getting long in the tooth but they're still playing good ball. If healthy the Titans will have Harold Landry and Cameron at OLB and I think that they're almost equal to the Panthers OLBs. And there is an advantage for the Panthers at OLB even if Wake is healthy because Wake rotates with the irrelevant Kamalei Correa but that advantage is lessened if Landry and Wake are both fully healthy.

The Panthers ILB...

The Panthers are good at ILB where they have Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson. They're good players. The Titans have Rashaan Evans and Jayon Brown, if Jayon Brown is healthy. It's close but I would give a slight edge to the Panthers here.

The Panthers secondary...

The Panthers secondary is solid but not as good as the Panthers' DL or ILBs or EDGES. And the Panthers secondary also isn't as good as the Titans' secondary *if" Adoree Jackson is playing. The Titans have a significant advantage here. When Adoree Jackson's in that Titans' secondary is very good. Titans QB can throw into the Panther's secondary and it's going to be a lot riskier for the Panthers 2nd string QB to throw into the Titans secondary if Jackson's in.

Bottom line is that these 2 teams look similar and the game is being played in the Panther's home stadium. And the the Titans have key injuries to worry about. I think that given the injuries the Titans will lose this game but I could change my mind if subsequent injury reports disclose players are healthy. The Titans advantages at QB and secondary are BIGGER advantages than the Panther's advantages at ILB because quarterbacks and Secondaries are more important units to the win/loss column. The Panthers best advantage is at OL because OL is a big part of winning since the OL protects the QB and opens holes for the RB.

Right now I think the Panthers will win but that's because the last I head the Titans were in a horrible injury situation. It's important to read the injury reports that start coming out on Wednesdays.

Right now I think the Panthers will win but that's because the last I head the Titans were in a horrible injury situation. It's important to read the injury reports that start coming out on Wednesdays.

And trade reports for that matter. I mentioned that I'd probably pick the Jets, but apparently they may deal Levon Bell this week. If so I think the line changes and my pick probably goes out the window.

To give you guys an idea of how good the Titans secondary is consider this - as good as Adoree Jackson it's actually Logan Ryan who's considered to be the best DB for the Titans. He's even considered to be the best defensive player on the entire team. Keep in mind that this backfield includes Kevin Byard, who's widely respected as a top-5 safety in the entire league. Many people call Byard the top safety in the league or at least one of the top 3. So you're looking at a defensive backfield with Logan Ryan, Kevin Byard, Kenny Vaccaro, and Adoree Jackson. It also has Malcolm Butler but I put him a little lower than the other 4 dbs. This is a sterling defensive backfield and if the Panthers QB isn't careful this secondary will embarrass him, if Adoree Jackson is active and playing.

And trade reports for that matter. I mentioned that I'd probably pick the Jets, but apparently they may deal Levon Bell this week. If so I think the line changes and my pick probably goes out the window.

The line will change big time. I can't keep up with all of these trades and even injuries.

To give you guys an idea of how good the Titans secondary is consider this - as good as Adoree Jackson it's actually Logan Ryan who's considered to be the best DB for the Titans. He's even considered to be the best defensive player on the entire team. Keep in mind that this backfield includes Kevin Byard, who's widely respected as a top-5 safety in the entire league. Many people call Byard the top safety in the league or at least one of the top 3. So you're looking at a defensive backfield with Logan Ryan, Kevin Byard, Kenny Vaccaro, and Adoree Jackson. It also has Malcolm Butler but I put him a little lower than the other 4 dbs. This is a sterling defensive backfield and if the Panthers QB isn't careful this secondary will embarrass him, if Adoree Jackson is active and playing.

Nearly a pro bowl secondary, nameless, but Butler is my man! If only for his place in SuperBowl lore.

The teams put out their first injury reports on Wednesdays and the Titans doesn't look as bad as I thought they would. And some of the injured Titans are on limited practice while some are on DNP for did not practice. And the Panthers injury situation looks worse right now. But sometimes coaches stash veteran players on injured reserve because those players don't really need practice and the coaches want to give those players a rest.